Los Pastores

Been there several times. Great food and service!

This is a regular stop for several of my co workers but I just never got a chance to go. Finally I made it out here for lunch and glad I did. The dining area is pretty big and looks clean. It looks like they have a little tortilla factory in the back by the kitchen which is pretty cool. I had the street tacos with corn tortillas. I tried the shredded brisket, spicy beef, pork and one other one. They even had lengua tacos (tongue). The winner of the tacos I had was the pork taco. They were all good but the pork taco defiantly stood out from the pack. The big chunks of meat were tasty, juicy but not greasy. I think next time I will just get all pork tacos. Cool place and I need to return to try their breakfast.
The complementary chips and salsa were pretty good. They also have two different salsas for your food. They are not too spicy but are yummy. The darker red one has a smokey flavor. The green one is not spicy at all and has a lime based taste to it. This was my favorite one and I could sit there and drink it straight from the bottle.
My co worker had the same tacos plus rice and beans. They looked good and he said they were very good.

Good food, good service!

I wanted to try Rise and Shine next door, but it was closed this weekend so I decided to try out Los Pastores next door.
It was pretty empty and I was seated right away. The chips were good, but the salsa was watery.
I ordered horchata, migas and a taco. The horchata was too watery. The migas was OK. The corn tortillas that came with the migas were rubbery. The taco was the only thing that was good.

Service — 3 Stars
Food — 3 Stars
Mexican Food is Not Tex Mex Lesson — 3 Stars
Have you ever felt like you were out of place? Like you didn’t belong? Like you walked into a the Lady’s restroom and you’re not the right gender? Well, that’s how I felt in Los Pastores.
Tex Mex they are not. Oh, they serve enchiladas and burritos and such. But they said authentic Mexican on the sign above the door, AND THEY MEANT IT!
I was definitely in the minority in my choice of orders. All the smart non-​Gringo tables were eating Caldos (Soup) and Mariscos (Fish) dinners, and I ordered cheese enchiladas and my wife ordered a Torta (Sandwich) with spicy meat inside. I looked at my own less than appealing plate when it got to me and then I looked at my neighbors’ plates overflowing with crusted fish and huge bowls of red soup with floating tidbits of fish and shrimp and felt like I was an Ugly American on the wrong side of the border! (And no wise-​ass remarks about the Ugly American bit, I’ve seen my picture!)
Maybe, I said to my wife, just maybe, these guys know more than we do. «What do you mean we? she said as she happily gulped down her Torta. (It looked more like a Sloppy-​Joe to me, but after a listening to me whine for a few more minutes, she let me have half her Torta. That salvaged my lunch, because I thought it was quite tasty.
I have to say, I’ve had worse cheese enchiladas. But they didn’t serve the right kind of cheese for my tastes. The beans and were rice were just so –so. If this were a Tex-​Mex restaurant, I’ve have given it a 2 Star rating. Because we both liked the Torta, it gets a 3 Star. And judging by the appetites and smiles at the other tables, this could be a 4 Star place. I’ll know after my next visit, but I’ve got to read up on the dishes available in authentic Mexican cooking, first.
So the moral of this tale is, Don’t Take a Knife to a Gun-​Fight, and don’t expect Tex-​Mex where it clearly states «Authentic Mexican» food.
Order their Caldo and Mariscos dishes and eat happy like the other customers do.

Not to be confused with a similar named place closer to Collins, this place is near Fielder on Pioneer: a small family run breakfast, lunch and dinner place with good Mexican offerings (and some tex-​mex for the unadventurous). It occupies an old Grandy’s that’s probably seen better days.
A fuller menu taqueria with plenty of offerings from seafood to individual tacos. We sampled the special Tamales platter: your get four small tasty meat-​filled middle-​of-​the-​road tamales covered in a good meat sauce, with a side of beans (classic, tasty and high-​calorie of course) and a side of rice.
They serve street-​style tacos: small corn or flour tortillas filled with your choice of meat along with onion and cilantro. I enjoyed the Carnitas, Pastor and Lengua 5-​tacos. We also tried the Burritos: the fajita meat and fillings inside the giant tortilla was delicious.
Not sure if the chips were home made or not but they were thick, tasted fresh and had a very good flavor. Their salsa is the ‘cooked’ type with a nice spicy bite to it. I enjoyed it over my tacos.
They do serve Mexican Coke and many Mexican sodas, and homemade Lemonade and Horchata. And yes, Tecate Beer starts at $ 2 per can. Excellent soups on offer, many of the Hispanic clientele there that day were ordering them.
Recommended, even for less-​adventurous gringos.